Everything looked fresh and delicious. While the offerings were plentiful in Vincara, particularly through the merchants that brought things to the apothecary, Father and I had mostly survived on bread, stews, and whatever root vegetables were either in season or kept well.
My stomach rumbled again, and as I blushed, he smiled and took a hearty bite. Encouraged, I sampled some of the fruit and was pleasantly rewarded with a burst of flavor I hadn’t tasted since before coming to Earth the last time.
I gasped, nostalgic tears suddenly burning my eyes. “Starberries.” I inhaled slowly, trying to regulate the surge of emotion that had hit me from the sight of the fruit. “It’s been a very long time since I had these.” I picked one of the little coin-sized golden fruits out, pleased to find he’d cut them in half to better show their five-pointed shape.
“My brother has taken an interest in specialty plants recently. Between his gardens and Merry’s greenhouse, there’s quite a number of things growing I haven’t seen in an age. I think we all remembered a fondness for these.”
“The brother that I met? Seir?”
He shook his head, half of a berry impaled on the tine of his fork. “No, another. Rylan.”
“How many do you have?”
Tap’s head tilted. “You recognized that I was of the original fallen. Do you also know how many of us there were?”
I considered, but that part of my memory was fuzzy. There was no recognition like there had been connecting his name and that he’d leapt from the heavens. “No, sorry.”
“No need for apologies. I was curious what you’d been taught, is all. I have seven brothers. We all left with Lucifer.”
“Oh. That’s quite a few.”
“Indeed.” His eyebrows dropped and he frowned. “Do you have any siblings? Are there other Nephilim like you out there we should be worried for? It might be possible to arrange something for them as well. I should notify my brothers of what Armaros is up to, regardless.”
My fork halted halfway back to my plate. It was such an odd thing for him to say, and yet, it didn’t seem as though it was an unusual question for him to ask at all. Of all the things in the world for him to want to know, he was most curious whether or not I had a loved one we should be seeking out to protect? We’d barely met, and he thought there was awe?
“Why?”
His eyes widened slightly as he absorbed my confused tone. “Why not? Shouldn’t they also be saved from such a cruel fate?”
“But…” I found myself unable to disguise my shock. “You don’t even know me.”
“I wouldn’t know them either, but if you thought they were worthy of being spared, family or not, I would use my resources to find a way.” His head tilted to the side, eyes narrowed and mouth tight in confusion. “Is that so different from what you would do, if our roles were reversed?”
It took me several moments to gather my wits enough to respond. Everything about him threw me off balance. “No. I suppose not.” I stared at him, waiting for a change in attitude, some indication of humor or anger that would expose him as the devious, trickster creature I’d been taught a demon might be. But nothing happened. He radiated only sincerity and gentle strength, and I had no idea how to reconcile that. “I’m an only child,” I admitted. “Though I’m sure there are others out there, they are not relations of mine.”
Tap nodded and conversation fell off as we both worked through our meals. My stomach was pleasantly full and my mind tired from over analyzing everything that had happened since I’d woken that morning by the time we finished. I reached for the plates, but he waved me off.
“I can manage the dishes if you’d like to return to your room to rest.” When I didn’t move, he continued, “If not… I have several hobbies. Most are not what I would consider good choices for entertainment, but I’m sure we could come up with something.”
My body was definitely tired, but I was certain my thoughts would continue to spin for quite a while.
“What time is it?”
“Something comparable to nine bells or so, probably.”
Torn between my desire to explore my new temporary home, to stay and study this fascinating demon, and my fatigue, I hesitated. In the end, much like my stomach had decided for me, a yawn betrayed my exhaustion and made the choice for me.
Tap smiled softly. “There’s no sunrise here, but you’ll find that the windows brighten and darken with the passing of time.” It wasn’t until then that I even realized I hadn’t thought twice about the fact that there were windows here at all. “Sleep as much as you like, there’s no rush. When you’re up and ready in the morning, come find me. We’ll go over what needs done in the library then.”
“Okay. Good night.”
“Sleep well, Phin. If you need anything, I’ll be in the great hall.” I turned to go but paused at his next words. “It looks nice, by the way.”
“Sorry?”
“Your hair. There was something in it before, yes? This color, it suits you much better.”
I blushed hot, fingers straying to the short strands at the back as I left the kitchen on another mumbling of gratitude and returned to my room. I went through the motions of preparing for bed, making sure the door was open enough that I could see a sliver of light from the hallway before I slid between the sheets. The mattress was far softer than I was used to, the blanket warmer. As I sank into the pillow and my eyes grew heavy, I silently listed off the things I was grateful for out of long ingrained habit.
